Speedy Gareth Bale’s back in the fast lane for Harry Redknapp

Speedy Gareth Bale’s back in the fast lane for Harry Redknapp

Speedy Gareth Bale’s back in the fast lane for Harry Redknapp

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Gareth Bale

Handy man: Gareth Bale enjoys the reception given to him by Spurs fans at the end of the game against Fulham after again looking a potent attacking threat

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Peter Crouch scores for Spurs

Back of the net: Peter Crouch celebrates his goal

Handy man: Gareth Bale enjoys the reception given to him by Spurs fans at the end of the game against Fulham after again looking a potent attacking threat

Tottenham 2-0 Fulham

Before the transfer window opened, Harry Redknapp claimed he would only be tempted to pay big money for someone who could take Tottenham to a new level. Yet in Gareth Bale, perhaps Redknapp has such a player in his squad already.

Bale enjoyed a fine start to his Tottenham career after joining in the summer of 2007 but he has struggled to make an impression since. A number of injuries put the brakes on his progress, and with Benoit Assou-Ekotto performing superbly at left-back, fans wondered whether Bale would ever prove himself at White Hart Lane.

A groin injury to Assou-Ekotto last month gave Bale another chance and the young Welshman has seized it. With his pace and accurate crossing from the left, Bale is a great overlapping full-back, while the signs from his recent matches suggest he is adapting well to the defensive side of the game.

Both against Fulham and in the FA Cup draw with Leeds last Saturday, Bale was his team's most potent attacking threat. And with Aaron Lennon still absent with a groin injury, he provides the speed that the team lack when their right-winger is missing.

Bale's rehabilitation is in its early stages and he faces a fight to ensure Assou-Ekotto remains on the bench when he regains fitness. But for the first time in more than two years, the 20-year-old is beginning to show why Spurs struck a deal, which could be worth £10million, to sign him from Southampton when he was only 17.

Remarkably, last night was the first time Tottenham have won a Premier League game with Bale in the starting line-up. The former Saints player insists the record does not bother him, but perhaps overcoming this hurdle will mark the beginning of a brighter phase in his White Hart Lane career.

It was a foul on Bale, who was bursting into the penalty area, which earned the free-kick that led to Spurs' second goal. The recalled David Bentley's angled shot deflected off the head of Bjorn Helge Riise and flew past the helpless Mark Schwarzer.

Bentley, who followed up after Peter Crouch's first-half opener, was surprisingly brought back into the team after Niko Kranjcar fell ill and the former England player's display was tidy.

Unlike Bale, though, there is little chance of Bentley making a significant contribution to Spurs' season. "I'm growing up," admitted Bale, the second-youngest player behind Theo Walcott to represent Southampton.

"I was young when I came here and I'm still quite young now but I'm learning every day and I want to become a better player. Nobody likes sitting on the bench, so it has been frustrating but it has also been a learning curve and that is what I need to go through. I'm happy to be back playing.

"I never really thought about leaving the club and I don't doubt myself. I know I'm a good player but I just needed the chance to prove it.

"When you get a run in the team, you have the confidence of the manager and that gives you confidence in yourself. You believe."

Spurs were not at their best but after three poor results, this was a solid effort which kept on track the club's attempts to secure a place in the top four.

Ledley King completed the full game and looked far more solid than he had in last week's 2-0 defeat at Liverpool, while his central defensive partner Michael Dawson was in good form.

Fulham were without several key players — Clint Dempsey, Andrew Johnson, Paul Konchesky, John Pantsil and Dickson Etuhu were all unavailable — but their lack of punch in attack should still be a concern to Roy Hodgson.

Spurs looked disjointed and edgy in the first half, yet Fulham appeared strangely reluctant to attack them. Perhaps a sole victory in 12 away matches in the Premier League has drained Hodgson's men of belief when they leave Craven Cottage.

The Fulham manager said: "I'm still quite proud of the players' performance given the number of injury problems and difficulties we have putting the type of team we want on the field.

"It was a brave, hard-working performance and we made certain Tottenham knew they were in a game but we can't complain about the result because we didn't create enough clear-cut goalscoring opportunities to say we deserved more than we got."